Design Guides
Media Wall Planning Guide
Updated 2 min read
The short answer
A media wall succeeds or fails on four things decided before construction: screen height relative to seated eye level, a ventilation path for equipment, conduit so cables can be replaced later, and structural backing rated for the screen and mount. All four are trivial to include at design stage and disruptive to retrofit.
Comfortable screen height
The centre of the screen should sit near seated eye level, which for most people is 1000–1150mm from the floor. Televisions are routinely mounted far higher than this, usually because a fireplace forces it.
| Screen size | Screen height | Suggested centre height |
|---|---|---|
| 55" | 685mm | 1000–1100mm |
| 65" | 810mm | 1050–1150mm |
| 75" | 935mm | 1050–1150mm |
| 85" | 1060mm | 1100–1200mm |
Comfort guidelines for a seated viewer at typical living-room distance, not manufacturer specifications. Sofa height and viewing distance shift them.
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Plan these before fabrication
- Exact screen model, or its width and weight if not yet purchased — and size the opening for the next screen, not this one.
- Full equipment list, including anything you plan to add later.
- A ventilation path: intake low, exhaust high, with adequate free area.
- Smooth-walled conduit between the equipment bay and the screen position so cables can be replaced.
- Structural backing — blocking or plywood substrate — sized for the specific mount and screen.
- Power at both the screen position and the equipment bay, installed by a licensed electrician.
- Whether doors are needed, and if so whether they are vented or IR-transparent.
- Integrated lighting, which requires machined channels and cable routing before finishing.
Answers
Frequently asked questions
- How high should I mount my TV?
- With the centre of the screen near seated eye level — usually 1000–1150mm from the floor depending on screen size and sofa height. Most televisions are mounted noticeably higher than this, which causes neck strain over a long viewing session.
- Will my equipment overheat behind cabinet doors?
- Not if the bay is designed with a convection path — intake low, exhaust high, adequate free area, and a quiet thermostatic fan where equipment load is high. Doors should be vented or IR-transparent so remotes still work. Overheating is a design failure, not an inevitability.
- Can cables be hidden in a concrete basement wall?
- Yes, by furring out the wall to create a service void, or by building a shallow chase into the millwork itself. Both approaches are routine; they just need to be planned before the design is finalised.
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